Hidden ocean on Saturn’s moon bolsters life theory

MICROBES?Researchers say subsurface water at the south pole of Enceladus, which has a rocky bottom, could create conditions allowing life forms to thrive

AFP, WASHINGTON

A diagram illustrates the possible interior of Saturn’s moon Enceladus based on a gravity probe by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft and Deep Space Network.

Photo: Reuters

Saturn’s moon Enceladus is home to an ocean of melted water beneath its surface, and could be a source for alien microbes, scientists said on Thursday.

The first measurements of the subsurface water at the south pole of the small and icy moon were made by the US space agency’s Cassini spacecraft, and are described in the journal Science.

The body of water is about the size of Lake Superior, the second-largest lake on Earth, and has a rocky bottom that could create conditions that allow tiny life forms to thrive.

Researchers first raised the possibility of a below-ground ocean on Enceladus in 2005, after water vapor was detected spewing from vents near the moon’s southern pole.

“Material from Enceladus’ south polar jets contains salty water and organic molecules, the basic chemical ingredients for life,” said Linda Spilker, Cassini project scientist at NASA.

“Their discovery expanded our view of the ‘habitable zone’ within our solar system and in planetary systems of other stars,” she said.

“This new validation that an ocean of water underlies the jets furthers understanding about this intriguing environment,” she said.

The Cassini spacecraft detected the shape of Enceladus’ gravity field during three flybys from 2010 to 2012. The gravitational tug exerted on the unmanned orbiter was carefully analyzed for clues about what the interior of Enceladus contained.